Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze and Auburn coach Gus Malzahn have been friends dating back to their days as high school coaches -- when Malzahn left Shiloh Christian for Springdale (Ark.) High and Freeze, then a high school coach in the Memphis area, applied for the job.

Their paths have been remarkably parallel since then, with both moving from the high school ranks to SEC assistants, with Malzahn succeeding Freeze as head coach at Arkansas State and with both now working as head coaches in the SEC West.

Both known for their hurry-up no-huddle offensive philosophies, they've shared much with each other along the way. But after Malzahn took over the Auburn job this year, the communication between the two has dropped off considerably.

"We used to talk all the time about things, but that hasn't occurred this year very much," Freeze said. "We actually talked the week before we played each other quite a bit -- obviously it wasn't about football."

And so this week, as Freeze's Rebels prepare for an 11:21 a.m. home kickoff on Saturday against an Arkansas team that Malzahn's Tigers beat 35-17 in Fayetteville just last week, Freeze said he hasn't hit his old friend up for any inside info.

"I wouldn't put him in that position and he probably wouldn't feel comfortable doing anything like that anyway," Freeze said of Malzahn. "He doesn't put me in those positions. I'll shoot him a text -- congratulations -- when he wins. He does the same for me.

"We kind of just stay away form talking about other schools within our conference."